2019.09.0900:42:00UTC+00Australia Mortgage Approvals Surge In July

Australia's mortgage approvals increased more-than-expected in July, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

The number of owner occupier loans increased 4.2 percent, much larger than the expected growth of 1.5 percent.

The value of loans to investors grew 5.3 percent versus the forecast of 1 percent.

The ABS said he value of new lending commitments to households rose 3.9 percent in July 2019, the strongest since October 2014.

Overall, while the July gain was stronger than expected it is broadly consistent with the improvement in auction market activity and prices seen through June to August, Matthew Hassan, an economist at Westpac said.

While conditions point to a further rise in August, turnover still looks to be running at low levels, the economist added.